Every year the 91原创 Public Library is asked by members of the public to remove some books from its shelves, books that have upset someone鈥檚 sensibilities, and in 2013 a children鈥檚 book by Dr. Seuss was among them.
There aren鈥檛 a lot of formal requests for removal and they are almost always denied, but not before VPL takes a long, serious look at the book involved.
Take the Dr. Seuss book If I Ran the Zoo, for instance.
It seems laughable that a Seuss book, loved by parents and children alike, could offend anyone.
What are we, China? Green Eggs and Ham was once banned there as being subversive.)
But it turns out there is a legitimate concern with If I Ran the Zoo.
For one, there is a line in the poem about helpers who 鈥渁ll wear their eyes at a slant,鈥� accompanied by illustrations that are racial stereotypes of Asians.
There are also drawings of Africans that wouldn鈥檛 be acceptable to publish today.
But If I Ran the Zoo was published in 1950.
Janet Tomkins, head of children鈥檚 library at VPL, looked into it, checking out what the policies are at other libraries (one library has 101 copies of the book) and how parents and teachers deal with the book.
鈥淏ooks such as If I Ran the Zoo create a dilemma for libraries,鈥� Tomkins wrote.
But not one that necessitated censorship.
The VPL will keep its copies of the Seuss book, but will no longer read it at storytime or promote it other than as resource material in a study of how the portrayal of other cultures has changed over time.
鈥淎 library鈥檚 collection has to reflect the wide range of ideas in the world, has to reflect the broad interests of the community,鈥� said VPL chief librarian Sandra Singh. 鈥淚n a community like 91原创, which is really diverse, we have diverse items in the collection.
鈥淭his is why we take (complaints) so seriously; we view the collection we鈥檙e curating as the community鈥檚 collection.鈥�
As for the other two books that came up for examination in 2013, one was about raw milk, one about serial killers.
The library sent the book on serial killing 鈥� Cold North Killers: 91原创 Serial Murder, by Lee Mellor 鈥� to the hate-speech squad at the 91原创 Police Department for guidance.
The police said there was nothing illegal about the book.
Checking with the VPL or lawyers is common when a reader believes a book breaches the Criminal Code or the B.C. Human Rights Act.
鈥淲hen we鈥檙e in doubt,鈥� Singh said, 鈥渨e鈥檒l seek an opinion.鈥�
Cold North Killers, according to the complainant, contains descriptions of rape, sodomy and murder of adolescent teens.
鈥淭here is no educational benefit in introducing a 10-year-old child who might pick this book up ... to the ideas contained in it,鈥� said the person asking it be removed.
To which the library responded: 鈥淭his work is disturbing to read, (but) this does not affect the library鈥檚 obligation to protect the right of a citizen to read this book.鈥�
Criminal code aside, if Mein Kampf were published today, would it be put on library shelves?
Given its historical significance 鈥� it鈥檚 hard to study Nazi Germany without reading Hitler鈥檚 first-hand account of his 鈥渟truggle鈥� 鈥� no serious library goes without.
鈥淵ou look at works written 50 or 60 years ago, they were written in a whole different context,鈥� Singh said.
That鈥檚 why classics such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have their merits discussed so often: They contain anachronisms.
But instead of censoring them, the library suggests using them as an educational tool.
鈥淲e suggest to parents that they read books critically to their children,鈥� Singh said.
听
